


The promise

by orphan_account



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-01
Updated: 2014-06-01
Packaged: 2018-02-03 00:36:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1724711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Do you think I’ve ruined his life?" Harry sniffles. "He could have had some rich parents somewhere and instead he’s stuck with a dad who owns a rundown bar and can barely make rent." </p><p>Zayn tugs him closer. “I don’t think I know a better person to be a father.  He's going to have a great life, you’ll see.”</p><p>"Promise you’ll always be there?" Harry pleads, looking up at him with watery eyes. </p><p>Zayn leans down to brush his lips across the younger lads. It’s something they’ve always done, a friendly thing. But when he whispers the word ‘promise’ against Harry’s lips, it turns it in to something completely different. </p><p>(Or: Harry becomes a dad and Zayn is there to help.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The promise

**Author's Note:**

> I'm no longer in the 1d fandom but I have a lot of fics on my laptop that I've spent writing and I feel like it's a waste of my time to delete them. However, I have no intention of finishing them, sorry.

The bar closes it at just before midnight on weekdays. Harry’s uncle used to have it open until all hours but Harry’s uncle didn’t have university classes to attend, or a life to live at all really. It took a lot for Zayn to convince Harry that they wouldn’t be missing out on much business by closing early.

“What time is his class tomorrow?” Louis asks as Zayn wipes the bar down.

Zayn glances across the room to where Harry is hunched over, sweeping the crumbs out from under one of the tables. “It’s an afternoon class, think it starts at half two.”

“Turn off his phone alarm then.” Louis says. “I’ll cover the bar. The both of you look like you could do with a few hours.”

“I’m fine, Lou.” Zayn replies, the yawn threatening to escape his lips not helping his argument.

“I worked here long before you, Malik.” Louis tells him, coming around the bar to place his empty glass in the sink. “Just because I have a job and a fiancé now, doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten everything I learnt in my youth.”

“You’re twenty two.” Zayn snorts, throwing the tea towel in his hand, over his shoulder as he turns to face his friend.

“Exactly, don’t let me die before my time.” Louis states as he folds his arms and leans back against the sink.

“I don’t know how Liam puts up with you.” Zayn chuckles and shakes his head.

Louis frowns and kicks his foot in Zayn’s direction. “I’m offering you a favour here and all you’re doing is insulting me.”

“I appreciate the gesture.” Zayn steps forward to squeeze at his friends shoulder. “But we’re doing just fine on our own. You spend your day off curled up to Liam and demanding he make you breakfast, like you’re supposed to.”

Louis huffs. “Fine but if Liam asks, I’m a good person and I try to do things for my friends.”

“I think he already knows that, babe.” Zayn informs him, stepping back.

A loud thud comes from across the bar followed by a small ‘ow’ from Harry. Zayn turns to look and sure enough the younger boy is across the room, on the floor, rubbing at the top of his head.

“I told you to sweep around, not damage yourself.” Zayn says and jumps over the bar, making his way over. He bats Harry’s hand out of the way and rubs his fingers his gently across where he’d presumably bumped his head on the table. “There’s no bump, you’ll live.”

“Thank you, Dr. Malik.” Harry grins.

Zayn winks at him and offers a hand to help him to his feet. “Ready to go?”

“Yeah, let me just put the broom back.” Harry replies, reaching down to get the broom from the floor.

Zayn grabs both their coats from behind the bar as Harry sticks the broom back in the utility closet. Louis waits for them at the door, a yawn passing his lips.

“You didn’t have to stay until closing, you know.” Zayn tells him, handing Harry is jacket and pulling on his own as they make their way over to the other lad.

“Liam’s got the night shift.” Louis shrugs. “I don’t like being in our apartment alone. Plus, Loki is still going through that phase where he pretends to hate me whenever Liam’s not around.”

“I don’t think that’s pretend, Lou.” Harry snorts, locking the front door. 

“I’m gonna get a cat, then we’ll see who the damn dog likes.” Louis mutters.

Zayn puts an arm around his friends shoulder. “I’m pretty sure you’ve got your hands full with the one dog hating you, babe.”

“I hate you both. I’m never offering to do anything for you, ever again.” Louis pouts, pushing Zayn away.

Zayn laughs, letting Harry tuck himself under his arm as the three of them head down the road, away from the bar. They don’t live very far, about a five minute walk. With Louis and Liam’s apartment block, another five minutes away from theirs.

“Text me when you get home.” Harry says when they hug Louis goodbye.

“Of course.” Louis assures him.

“Don’t let Loki boss you about.” Zayn says, laughing when Louis puts his middle finger up as he walks away.

Harry nuzzles his face in to Zayn’s neck, letting out a yawn and Zayn waits until he can’t see Louis’ retreating figure anymore before he leads the younger lad inside their apartment block.

“Sleep in your bed tonight?” Harry pleads, hand fisted in the back of Zayn’s leather jacket.

“If you must.” Zayn smiles, tugging the other lad a little bit closer as they begin to walk up the stairs. The lift is known for continuously breaking down and ever since that time it broke down with both of them inside, they’ve been known to chose the exertion of the stairs.

It takes trying to turn his key four times and a good hard hit from his shoulder to get their apartment door open. Harry’s flopped over his back like a dead weight as he makes his way inside.  He throws his keys in the bowl by the door and Harry kicks the door closed behind them.

It takes a lot of effort to drag both his and Harry’s tired bodies across the apartment in to his bedroom. They barley bother with getting dressed, just shuck off their jeans and climb under Zayn’s to thin sheets. Harry takes up a ridiculous amount of space on the bed, face down with his limbs spread out so almost all of them are somehow touching Zayn.

“Who needs to pay heating bills when you’ve got a long limbed monkey keeping you warm?” Zayn mumbles, stroking his fingers through Harry’s hair as they other lad’s head rests on his shoulder.

“You didn’t pay the heating bill?” Harry asks but he doesn’t sound too worried.

“The bar needed a new sink.” Zayn says, moving his hand to the back of Harry’s neck to squeeze at where he’d gone all tense. “Just think when you’re some big famous record producer and I’m some big animator, we won’t even have to pay our heating bills.”

“Do they even have heating bills in LA? It’s like hot 12 months out of the year.” Harry mumbles, voice getting taken over by sleep.

Zayn rubs his thumb across Harry’s neck gently. “Who knows, we’ll be too busy clubbing to care.”

“Love you.” Harry sighs, his eyelashes brushing against Zayn’s neck as his eyes close over.

“You too.” Zayn replies, moving his hand from Harry’s neck down the length of his back until it comes to rest on the lower part of his spine. He finally lets the tiredness of the long day take over as he’s pulled towards unconsciousness.

\---

Zayn wakes up alone, the bed beside him still warm letting him know the body that once occupied it, hadn’t long left. He looks over at the clock and it reads 7.35 am letting him know he’s got less than hour to get to the bar and open up. The locals will want to give their cooked breakfast orders by 9.

He tugs his fingers through his flat hair and grabs his pack of cigs from the side table and heads out in to the apartment. He finds Harry on the couch, sat deadly still and staring down at the phone in his hand like it just personally offended him.

“You okay, babe?” Zayn asks, getting a cigarette from his pack.

“I’m a dad.” Harry says quietly.

Zayn shakes his head like he’s sure he heard him wrong. “What was that?” 

“I’m a dad, I’m a dad. A dad.” Harry looks up at him. “A dad, Z.”

“What? I mean how? I mean I know how but like with who?” Zayn stumbles.

Harry looks back down at his phone. “Hannah, remember? Dark hair, brown eyes, gorgeous tanned skin.”

“The lawyer?” Zayn asks because that’s the only when he’s been able to keep up with Harry’s flings. Harry had a type, which is exactly how he explained Hannah. Their job description was the only way for Zayn to identify one from another, he was shit with names.

“Yeah.” Harry nods and lets out a long breath. “The lawyer. Well, she, she had a kid. It’s, it’s mine.”

“She’s only just telling you?” Zayn asks, abandoning his cigarette as he makes his way over to his friend.

“She said she didn’t plan to.” Harry explains as Zayn sits beside him. “She was just going to put him up for adoption and leave me none the wiser. She said she felt guilty, when she finally saw him, apparently he has my eyes.”

“So how old is he?” Zayn questions as he rubs a soothing palm down his friend’s back.

“Three days.” Harry tells him. “She has to make her final decision—if she wants to give him away or not—before he’s ten days. She said—she wants to know—if I’m okay with it.”

“Are you?” Zayn asks softly.

“I don’t know!” Harry exclaims. “An hour ago I didn’t even know he existed and now I’ve got to decide if I never want to meet him!!”

Zayn makes a hushing noise and brings Harry in to his side, pressing his lips to the other lad’s temple. Harry takes a few minutes to calm down, his hand curled tightly around the bare skin of Zayn’s thigh.

“We could go and meet him, if you want.” Zayn suggests. “What hospital is he at?” 

“Queen Charlotte.” Harry replies.

“Alright, you ring Hannah and tell her we’re on our way.” Zayn tells him. “I’ll ring Lou and get him to cover the bar.”

“Can we do it the other way around?” Harry frowns.

Zayn smiles slightly and rubs Harry’s back gently. “She clearly wants you to meet him if she’s contacted you, babe. She’ll be fine with it, I promise.”

Harry sighs. Zayn presses another kiss to his temple before reluctantly pushing the other lad away so he can stand up from the couch and go in to the bedroom, to get his phone. He can hear Harry begin to talk to Hannah on the phone, his voice quiet and venerable in a way Zayn hadn’t heard it be in a long time.

He grabs his phone from his abandoned jeans and unlocks it, flicking through his contacts until he comes across Louis’ name. It takes exactly eight rings for Louis to pick up. Zayn knows, because he counted every one out loud in frustration.

“Seriously Malik, you are the prince of bad timing.”Louis groans breathless.

“I don’t care what you were doing and I don’t want to know.” Zayn starts and then through a sigh. “Can you still cover the bar for us today?”

“Of course.” Louis answers immediately. “Is something wrong? Did Harry set the kitchen on fire again? Or did he break something because you had to jump down the fire escape, trying to hide from your landlord, again?”

“No, nothing like that.” Zayn says. “We just need this favour.”

“You never ask for favours.” Louis reminds him and Zayn can hear his frown through the phone. “What’s going on, Z? Did you murder someone? You know Harry won’t be good in jail—“

“Louis.” Zayn snaps. “Shut the fuck up for five minutes.”

Louis makes a noise of shock down the phone and soon his voice is being replaced with one Zayn’s being listening to since he was eight years old.

“Is everything okay?” Liam asks gently.

“I just need you and Louis to watch the bar for today.” Zayn explains. “With no questions, please.”

“Sure.” Liam agrees easily.

“Thank you.” Zayn says through a long breath. “I’ll call you later.”

“Alright.” Liam comes back. “Just whatever it is, be careful, yeah?”

“Always am.” Zayn smiles a little. “Thanks again, Li.”

“We’ll see you later.” Liam promises. “Love you.”

Zayn says it back and waits for Liam to hang up before heading back in to the living room. Harry’s just hung up his own phone and he drops his hand to his side when he see’s Zayn.

“You want to keep him, don’t you?” Zayn asks, moving closer to him. “You don’t even have to see him, you already want too, don’t you?”

Harry drops his head the way he does when he thinks he’s lets someone down. “I just, I watched Louis grow up in a world where his father didn’t want him and—“

“Louis turned out fine.” Zayn says and Harry lifts his head up to give him a _‘seriously’_ look. “Okay, not fine. He’s a little mad but I think that’s built in to him. I don’t think his father leaving has anything to do with the way Louis is.”

“You didn’t seem him when we were little, Z.” Harry tells him. “He used to ask his mum all the time why his dad didn’t want him, what he did that was so wrong that someone couldn’t stick around to love him. Did you not notice how hard it was for him to let himself fall for Liam? To believe, that someone could actually be that in love with him.”

Zayn sighs and brackets Harry’s hips with his hands, tugging him closer to wrap his arms around him. Harry rests his head down on Zayn’s shoulder and lets out his own defeated sigh.

“I don’t want my kid to go through that.” Harry admits. “I don’t want him turning up on my doorstep eighteen years from now and asking me what he did that was so wrong, what the reason was behind why I didn’t want him.”

Zayn stays quiet for a moment and then he squeezes the younger lad. “Alright.”

“Alright?” Harry asks quietly.

“Alright.” Zayn repeats. “But you’re buggered if you think I’m letting you do this on your own.” 

 Harry buries his face in Zayn’s neck, wet eyes and wide smile being pressed to the skin there.

\---

Harry falls in love with the baby the moment he lays eyes on him and refuses to put him down once he’s got him in his arms. Zayn has to agree with Hannah, those big green eyes do look very familiar and maybe that’s why he falls a little in love with the baby too.

Hannah doesn’t argue when Harry tells her that he doesn’t want to go through with the adoption. In fact she might look a bit relieved when Harry tells her he’d like to be the one to raise the baby. Zayn writes his number and a few others down on a piece of a paper and pushes it in to the young girls hand, even after she promises she doesn’t want anything to do with the baby after the papers are signed.

Zayn spends more of the day talking to the social worker about how they go about taking the baby home than he does bonding with the new infant. In fact, the first time he holds the little one, the sun is already setting in the sky.

“Have you thought of a name yet?” He asks as he sits in the hospital chair beside Hannah’s bed, the baby is in his arms, chewing contently on his dummy with his eyes closed.

“Not my department.” Hannah says, not looking up from the magazine resting on her bent legs.

“You don’t want any part, at all?” He questions, stroking his fingertips across the baby’s head. When green eyes blink up at him, they’re so familiar, his breath catches slightly.

“Look, I’m not the settled down and have a bunch of kids kind of girl, okay?” She says harshly. “I only went full term because I was too far along to have an abortion.”

Zayn wants to cover the baby’s ears and whisper reassurance that she’s lying and then realises how ridiculous that is. “I’m sorry I asked.” 

“No, I’m sorry.” She sighs. “It’s just everyone keeps looking at me like I’m some kind of monster for not wanting him, you know?” 

Zayn looks down at the baby in his arms and wonders how anyone could ever not want him. Still, he finds himself saying. “It’s your decision. You shouldn’t let people make you feel guilty. Not everyone is born with parental instincts.”

“He was.” Hannah says, nodding her head towards Harry, who’s curled up fast asleep on the only other chair in the room. “I felt so guilty for not telling him. I picked up the phone so many times during the pregnancy but it was like if I told him, it would make it real. And I spent nine months telling myself it wasn’t.”

Zayn offers her a small smile. “You did the right thing in the end.”

“Yeah.” She smiles lightly back. “As soon as they put him in my arms, I knew I had to call. He’s the spitting image of him, it would have been impossible to hand him over to a bunch of strangers when the person he got those green eyes from, didn’t even know he existed.”

Zayn looks back down at the baby, who’s snoring softly now, the dummy half out of his mouth. He moves the dummy and sets it on the table beside the chair, rubbing his fingertips softly across the baby’s face.

“Can you promise me something?” Hannah asks.

Zayn’s tears his eyes away from the baby to look at her. “Anything.”

“Don’t tell him that I didn’t want him.” She says, voice cracking slightly. “Promise me you’ll make up some elaborate story for why I couldn’t be a part of his life. I don’t want him to grow up thinking he’s not worth the world, just because he got stuck with me as a mother.”

Zayn wants to tell her that Harry would never let that happen, that this baby is going to be loved by so many people that he’s never going to think he’s not worth everything and more. He opens his mouth to tell her just that when his phone vibrates loudly in his pocket, waking the baby, who pitches a fit the moment he opens his eyes. Harry’s up out of the chair he was asleep and in a flash, he’s got the baby out of Zayn’s arm and his quietly hushing back to sleep.

Zayn tugs his phone from his pocket and Liam’s face greets him. He gestures to Harry that he’s going outside to answer it and the boy waves him off, rocking the baby across the other side of the room. He’s about to head out of the room when Hannah’s small hand reaches for his.  

“Promise?” She asks over the screaming and vibrating phone.

Zayn squeezes her hand and gives her the best reassuring smile he can. “I promise.”

He waits a beat until she lets out a relieved breath and then tugs his hand from hers, pressing answer on his phone as he heads out of the room.

“Where the hell are you?” Louis’ voice booms down the phone.

“Did you use Liam’s caller ID to make sure I’d pick up?” Zayn asks, resting the phone between his shoulder and he searches his pockets for his cigarettes and lighter.

“Maybe.” Louis says quieter.

“You’re a little shit, do you know that?” Zayn laughs and gestures to the nurse on reception, as to where he can go to smoke. She points to the sliding doors and then mouths ‘to the left’. Zayn gives her a thankful smile before following her instructions.

“Where are you?” Louis asks. “We’re at your apartment and it’s completely in tact, and we passed your landlord on the stairs and he didn’t ask for any money. That’s two of my theories gone, which only leaves one, Zayn. Do you know which one that is?”

Zayn gets to the smoking shelter and smiles slightly at the blonde nurse that is already there. He slips a smoke from his pack, placing it between his lips and lights it, all before answering Louis.

“Murder.” He says as he breathes out the first drag.

The nurse raises her eyebrows at him and he winks playfully. She shakes her head with a laugh, stubbing out her cigarette on the wet wall. Zayn smiles once more as she passes him and she smiles back, purposely shaking her hips as she heads back towards the hospital.

“Are you listening to me?” Louis demands down the phone.

Zayn had been too busy checking the nurse out to pay attention to the conversation, or the cigarette burning in his hand. “Sorry, sorry. There was a fit nurse.”

He realises his mistake the moment he makes it and sighs when he’s met with Louis’ loud. “Nurse?! You’re at the hospital?! What the bloody fuck have you pair done now?!”

“It’s not my place to say.” He replies, flicking the ash from his cigarette before taking another drag.

“It’s not your place to—“ Louis pauses. “Has Styles got himself an STD. Did I not teach him the ways of safe sex? That boy, I’m going to have to—“

“Can you put Liam on please?” Zayn asks, trying to cut off Louis’ rant.

“Fine.” Louis huffs. “But only because I know he’ll get what I want out of you.”

Zayn blows the smoke out in one long breath and leans against the back of the smoking shelter. He waits as Louis mumbles something to Liam and takes another drag from his cigarette as Liam’s voice fills the speaker.

“Is everything okay?” Liam asks. “We’re a little worried is all?”

“It’s nothing bad.” Zayn promises. “We’ll tell you eventually, we’re going to have to. I just need you to trust me for now, can you do that?”

“Of course.” Liam replies instantly. “Do you need anything else?”

“Maybe, watch the bar again tomorrow, if it’s not too much trouble?” Zayn bites his lips, flicking the ash from his cigarette again.

“Sure but we’re both working Friday.” Liam tells him. “Will you be back by then?”

“Yeah.” Zayn takes the final drag from his cigarette and flicks it away.

“Promise you’ll ring us if you need anything.” Liam says.

Zayn lifts himself from where he was leaning on the smoking shelter. “I promise.”

“Alright.” Liam breathes out a little uneven. “Love you.”

Zayn says it back and hangs up the phone, heading back inside the hospital.

\---

Hannah’s ready to leave the next morning. Zayn drags Harry out of the room and down to the cafeteria so she can have one last moment with the baby on her own

“I was thinking Joey.” Harry says as they wait in the cue.  

“Like short for Joseph or Joey on its own?” Zayn asks.

Harry grabs a muffin off the shelf as the cue moves forward. “On its own.”

“Joey Styles.” Zayn tries. “I like it. It sounds important, like it should be announced by a voice over or something.”

Harry grins a little and leans in to Zayn’s side. “I want you to pick his middle name.”

“Really?” Zayn asks perplexed. “Shouldn’t you ask Hannah or like name him after your dad or something?”

“Joey Des Styles?” Harry screws up his nose and shakes his head. “I want you to pick it, that way he’ll always have a part of you with him.”

“You going soppy on me, Styles?” Zayn teases.

“Just pick a god damn name, Malik.” Harry laughs, pushing him slightly.

Zayn orders them two teas when they get to the counter and takes Harry’s muffin to set on the counter. He grabs his wallet from his back pocket before Harry has chance to grab his and hands a fiver over to the girl behind the counter. 

“Have you thought of one?” Harry asks when they step aside, waiting for their tea as the girl serves the next customer.

Zayn leans his back against the counter. “You want me to think of one right this second?”

“Well, he’s been baby Phillips for the past four days, he deserves a name already.” Harry tells him.

“Okay.” Zayn crosses his arms, trying to think of a good name while Harry bounces in front of him impatiently. He doesn’t say anything for a good few minutes, too amused by the way Harry is bouncing from foot to foot like an excited toddler waiting for their favourite dessert.

He waits until they’ve got their tea and their walking back to the hospital room before he says. “How about Kane?”

“Joey Kane Styles.” Harry nods. “Should I ask where you got it from?”

Zayn  shrugs. “Bob Kane, he came up with batman.”

“You’re such a dork.” Harry laughs, picking at his muffin. “My kid is gonna be a comic book dork. He’s never gonna get laid.”

“I get laid, don’t I?” Zayn smirks.

“Yeah but you have that.” Harry says and gestures to Zayn’s face like it was enough of an explanation.

“Yeah well he’s got those green eyes and he’ll probably have your charm.” Zayn shrugs. “I think he’ll do just fine, now can we stop talking about it cause it’s kind of creeping me out.”

“Oh shut up, I’m gonna be such a cool dad.” Harry grins. “I’m gonna teach him all the best chat up lines and puns, he’s gonna be swimming in the ladies by the time he’s my age.” 

“You’re so weird.” Zayn laughs. “This kid has got no chance.”

Harry keeps grinning around the top of his mug of tea. “Guess you’ll have to stick around then? Give him some normality?”

“I’m not going anywhere.” Zayn promises, dropping his arm around Harry’s shoulder as they walk back in to Hannah’s room.

Hannah is still there, sat on the end of the bed, humming softly with Joey still in her arms. Harry pulls himself from under Zayn’s arm and heads straight for them. Hannah easily hands Joey to him, in exchange for the tea and half eaten muffin.

“You always did know how to charm a girl, Styles.” She teases as she puts the two things on the table beside the bed.

“Did you want something?” Zayn asks. “I can go back down to the cafe—“

“No, no.” She shakes her head. “My friend’s picking me up and she promised to bring me McDonald’s breakfast.”

“You’re going to give up shitty hospital food for McDonald’s breakfast?” Zayn jokes.

Hannah laughs and Harry looks down at the baby in his arms and then to Hannah. “We decided on a name.”

“Do you mind if I don’t know?” She pleads. “I’d rather know as little as I can.”

Harry frowns a little but he nods his head, turning his attention back to the baby. Hannah looks to Zayn with a defeated look and Zayn sets his tea on the table next to Harry’s.

“I’ll walk you out?” He asks with a reassuring smile.

Hannah nods and reaches behind to grab her hospital bag. “I left a couple of clothes that a friend of mine bought for him. You don’t have to use them but they’re there, if you want to.”

 “Thank you.” Harry says sincerely and Zayn knows it’s not for the clothes.

Hannah smile is small but it’s there and she leans over to press her lips to Harry’s cheek and then another on little Joey’s forehead. Zayn opens the door to the room and gives Harry a _‘two minutes’_ look and then leads Hannah out. They walk in silence all the way to the front doors of the hospital, and then Hannah turns to him.

“Do you remember your promise?” She asks.

Zayn nods.

“Thank you.” She sighs relieved and reaches out to squeeze his arm. “Take care of both of them for me, yeah?”

“That’s not something I have to promise.” Zayn assures her with a shrug. “It’s second nature.”

“You’re a good man, Zayn Malik.” She tells him.

Zayn smiles and that’s how they leave it. A car pulls up and Hannah climbs in to without looking back and Zayn feels a little sad about that. He thinks about heading across to the smoking shelter but he knows Harry is waiting back in the room, wanting to leave as soon as they can.


End file.
